Wine and Food Blog Dedicated to the Young at Heart

Tag: side dish

I haven’t been blogging as much as I would like to of late, but my New Year’s Resolution is to get back into it. With everything that is going on at school, it has been difficult to find time to make new and creative dishes, let alone blog about them, but the New Year has me inspired to get back into the creative cooking groove!

One of my first recipes of the new year features wonderful and healthy brussels sprouts. Brussels sprouts are the perfect winter vegetable because they are in season, hearty, and so rich tasting.

One of my favorite ways to prepare brussels sprouts is to shave and roast them until they are crispy and delicious.

Once roasted, I toss the shaved brussels sprouts in a bacon fat and red onion vinaigrette. Oh, and then I top everything with with crispy bacon.

It is a pretty fantastic side dish that would go well with steak, chicken, pork or fish.

The one thing I would recommend is using the prescribed amount of brussels sprouts. It might seem or look like a lot, but the brussels sprouts really shrink when roasted and caramelized in the oven.

Enjoy this side dish straight out of the oven or serve at room temperature (it holds up really well)!

Serves 4

Ingredients

2.5 lbs brussels sprouts, shaved using the slicing attachment on a food processors or carefully with your knife

1/2 large red onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)

4 garlic cloves, minced (about 1.5 TB)

4 slices of thick cut bacon, diced

2-3 TB olive oil

S+P to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Slice brussels sprouts until very thin. Spray two cooking sheets with cooking spray (you want to make sure that the b sprouts have enough room to roast and get crispy). Place the shaved b sprouts onto the cookie sheets and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp of salt and pepper. Roast for 20-25 minutes or until the sprouts are crispy and slightly browned.

Place the bacon in a large cold sauté pan and cook over medium heat until crispy. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel to remove excess oil. Do not pour the bacon fat off! Depending on much fat your bacon rendered, you may want to add some olive oil to sauté the onion Given that this will be the “sauce” for the sprouts, you want to make sure you have enough to coat everything.

Add the diced onion to the pan and cook over medium low heat for 10-15 minutes until the onions are softened but not browned. Add the garlic in the last 2-3 minutes so that it is cooked through. Season with salt and pepper.

Remove the sprouts from the oven and pour into a large serving bowl. Top with the bacon fat and onion mixture and stir everything to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Top everything with the diced crispy bacon and give it one more mix. Serve warm.

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About Me

My name is Kathleen, I am in my late twenties and have been interested in food, wine, shopping, cooking, eating and drinking for as long as I can remember.